


The Walking Roosters

by welcometotherealworld



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 23:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4241304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welcometotherealworld/pseuds/welcometotherealworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geoff has been doing great in this Apocalypse on his own so far but things are about to change as two boys try to steal food from him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Walking Roosters

Geoff never would’ve thought he would’ve made it this far. In a land where everything seemed more or less dead, chances of surviving were getting lower and lower. People starved to death left and right, and when they didn’t have to worry about those damn zombies, they had to be on the lookout for other survivors. Betrayals weren’t uncommon nowadays; it was every man for himself. Geoff had found an easy way to prevent a premature death: stay alone. He never got attached to anyone, didn’t want to bother to. As long as he had guns and food, it was going to be okay.

His family had died a long time ago, when there were still more humans than zombies. Geoff had been heartbroken, in fact he still was, but he was damn happy his girls didn’t have to see what he had to go through every fucking day. Zombies’ leftovers, camp raids, sick kids, orphans… Everything went to shit so quickly after their deaths. And Geoff had to adapt as soon as he could, which he had done somewhat successfully.

At first, he couldn’t stand being alone. He had found a couple of survivors to hang out with, and together, they managed well. They hunted for food, they had a shelter and they even had some meds if one of them got sick. He would’ve stayed longer with them but the zombies had other plans in mind. One night, they overtook the camp and killed about half of them, if not more. Geoff barely got out of there alive, and he never joined any crew after that.

Holding onto his trusty knife and a shotgun he was able to grab before escaping, Geoff started traveling alone. It wasn’t that bad really. Sure, sleeping became a hell of a problem, mostly because he couldn’t even get himself to relax, but as he learned few tricks and planned out some traps to keep the zombies away, he was able to get at least few hours of sleep per night. And since he only had himself to feed, he could even store up food. That way, even if his hunting skills sucked ass one day, he still had something to eat. Really, being alone wasn’t bad at all.

But it was hard not having someone to talk to. All he could do was _think_. And in this kind of world, _thinking_ was the worst. It involved memories (painful, horrible memories) and Geoff would often spend hours thinking about everyone he could’ve saved that night, when the living dead attacked his camp. He didn’t even know if his friends had survived, he had just…left. He knew for sure Gus was dead, he had seen him get surrounded by those fucking monsters, but he had no idea if the others had survived. They had planned to go to the city to find other survivors, to form a bigger group. Geoff could’ve went to the nearest city, try to meet up with them, but he had stayed in the forest. Everything was so quiet there; he could hear zombies before even seeing them.

In the end, all that mattered was that he was still alive. And he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

 

***

 

Geoff had set camp near a river. He hadn’t seen any zombies in days and frankly, he quite liked the place. It looked untouched, like the Apocalypse never happened. But the lack of animals reminded Geoff it had. He had to go deeper and deeper in the forest to catch anything, and his traps were almost always empty. He still had some canned beans and shit like that, but some meat would’ve been great…

As Geoff came back empty handed again to his campsite, he felt something was wrong. He had felt the same way when he and his friends had been attacked, but this time, Geoff knew there were no zombies nearby. Figuring it was probably his lack of sleep making him imagine things, Geoff shrugged it off and continued walking. That’s when he heard it.

Something was in his tent, going through his stuff. Geoff didn’t know if it was alone but it sounded like it. Slowly, he took out his knife, ready to stab the living shit out of what was in there. He opened up the door and froze as two boys turned around, pointing guns at him. They looked young, but one of them was definitely _very_ young. Geoff didn’t put down his knife, furrowing his brow.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Geoff’s voice was raspy. He couldn’t remember the last time he had spoken out loud. One of the boys, the oldest, stepped forward to get the little one behind him.

“We’re not looking for any trouble,” he assured. “We just need some food.”

He didn’t look friendly at all, and that was aside from the gun pointing at Geoff’s face. His eyes were dead cold and it seemed he had long forgotten how to smile. Geoff looked down at the youngest. He had put down his gun (did he know how to actually use it?) and looked at Geoff with the same cold eyes. From a kid who grew up in the Apocalypse, Geoff didn’t expect much more.

“It’s for your brother?” Geoff finally asked.

“It’s for us,” the eldest replied. “If you don’t have anything, we’ll leave you be, just… don’t try anything funny.”

They were just hungry. _Hungry kids with guns._ Geoff’s shotgun was hidden under his sleeping bag, he had no chance of getting out of there alive if he tried anything with his knife. But he wasn’t planning on killing kids anyway. He slowly put his arm down, taking a step back to make sure he wouldn’t get his brains blown out.

“I’ve got two cans of beans if you’re interested. And half a bag of chips.”

The eldest kept staring at Geoff, not breaking eye contact as he spoke to the little one. “What do you think Ray? Do we trust him?”

Ray looked at Geoff for a while before nodding. “Yeah, he’s okay.”

The other one kept up his gun a little more before putting it down, though he still held onto it tightly, ready to defend the both of them if Geoff tried anything. “We’ll take some of your beans and we’ll be on our way,” the boy promised.

“It’s getting pretty late,” Geoff pointed out. “You sure it’s safe for him to be out there in the dark?”

“Please,” Ray scoffed with his high-pitched voice. “I’m seven years old. I can take care of myself.”

Geoff caught himself laughing. “I’m just offering, little guy. I don’t mind spending the night out if you two need to rest.”

The eldest looked down at Ray, waiting for him to decide. “Would you like that Ray? Should we stay for the night?”

Ray stayed quiet for a while, pretending to be thinking really hard about it. “Yeah, I guess we could.” He grinned and took his brother’s hand, clinging at it as he stayed well hidden behind him. Geoff didn’t know if it was out of shyness or simply defense. He pointed something behind the two boys.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll go get those beans now.”

The kids got out of the way so Geoff could get to his stuff. “Make yourselves comfortable,” Geoff mumbled as he looked for his food supplies. “I’ll make a fire soon.”

When he turned around, the boys were already gone outside. The little one, Ray, kept jumping on some rocks as the other looked after him, making sure he wouldn’t slip and fall. It had been awhile since Geoff had been with others, it had been forever since he had seen kids. Ray said he was seven, and even though the other looked pretty older, he was still probably in his teens. Geoff wondered for how long they’d been together. Had their parents died? Geoff shook off the thought. He wasn’t going to get depressed over some random kids; he didn’t care about them…did he?

 

***

 

The logs were crackling softly as Geoff poked them around to let the fire breathe. Ray was nose deep into a can of beans Geoff had given him while the older boy seemed lost in his thoughts. His eyes glowed as he looked at the fire, and Geoff couldn’t help himself from glancing at the boy every now and then, the silence making him uncomfortable.

“I can heat up some more beans if you want me to,” Geoff finally suggested, keeping his voice low.

“It’s fine,” the boy replied, not even blinking. “I’ll eat whatever’s left.”

“You’re no good to your little brother if you don’t-”

“I’m not his brother,” Ray snorted, his mouth full of beans. “We don’t even look alike.”

“Oh, I just assumed…” Geoff’s voice trailed off. “How long have you been traveling together?”

“Awhile,” Ray answered. He handed the can to the other boy and yawned. “I’m tired.”

Without a word, the eldest took off his jacket and put it on the ground. “It’s a cold night. It’s probably cozier here with the fire than back in that tent.”

Ray nodded and curled up on the ground before resting his head on the other boy’s jacket. Geoff stayed quiet for a while, not waiting to disturb the little one, although he had so many questions in mind. As for the eldest, the guy ate in silence what Ray had left him and he went back to his staring contest with the dancing flames.

When Geoff was sure Ray was sound asleep, he cleared out his throat to get the other boy’s attention.

“So…you haven’t told me your name.”

“Neither did you.”

“True. I’m Geoff.”

He held out a hand that was completely ignored.

“Ryan.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Ryan,” Geoff said. “So you boys have been traveling for a while, uh?”

“That’s what Ray said, yeah.”

“And…was it always just the two of you?”

“No.”

Geoff couldn’t help but stare at Ryan for a moment. The boy wasn’t disrespectful or anything, but Jesus Christ, he was definitely not a talker.

“I assume you met zombies.”

“Yes.”

“You’re good to keep them off your…” Not his brother dammit. Geoff pointed the little kid. “Him?”

“We’re alive, aren’t we?”

Geoff laughed bitterly. “Hey, I was just asking. I’m sure a guy your age hadn’t planned spending the Apocalypse taking care of a kid. Where did you find him anyway?”

Ryan stayed quiet, still no sign of any sort of emotion on his face. The boy was broken as fuck.

“Were his parents ever around?” Geoff went on, curious.

“No. They’re dead.”

“Walking or?”

“No. Wasn’t zombies that killed them.”

“Shit, raiders, uh? That’s fucked up,” Geoff sighed.

Ryan stayed quiet again, before turning his head to meet Geoff’s eyes.

“Yeah, raiders.”

Something in his glance, the way his eyes gloomed in the dark, made Geoff feel uncomfortable. There was something wrong, Ryan wasn’t telling the truth. And what truth did he have to hide that was worse than raiders and zombies?

“The fire’s dying,” Ryan suddenly said. “I’ll take Ray inside now.”

“Okay… I’ll be here if you need me,” Geoff mumbled as Ryan picked up Ray, wrapping him in the jacket. “I’ve got traps all around camp, you don’t need to worry about zombies. We’ll hear ‘em come. Get some sleep; looks like you haven’t had some in awhile.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Ryan walked off with Ray and they both disappeared in the tent. Geoff stared at the empty spot where Ryan sat a few seconds ago, a stunned look on his face. _Thanks._ He didn’t think the word was even in these kids' vocabulary. A faint smile on his lips, Geoff put another log in the fire to keep him warm and poked around to bring the flames back to life.

Dammit, he cared.


End file.
